Look Ma, no hands...I wish...

[Grits]

It took a while for me to develop that skill.

Practice in safe places - on nice, flat, straight stretches maybe in a neighborhood as opposed to the road so less traffic. Try riding one handed for stretches of time to develop the strength and steering capability of that arm. Don't try to get your water bottle while riding until you feel comfortable riding one handed for a little while.

Do it in steps.

Glance down quickly, see exactly where your hand needs to go. Look back up!

Reach down while still looking ahead and get your water bottle. Hold it, make sure you are balanced.

Take a drink. Make sure you are balanced.

Glance down, see where it needs to go. Look back up.

Reach down and put it in the holder.

I ride with one friend who has been riding a little less than a year and only drinks when we stop, so you are certainly not the only one! It will be second nature before you know it.

[lph]

I would add - practice thinking it before doing it. Try thinking of riding with one hand, steering with one hand, and just relaxing the other, or removing it briefly from the bars without doing anything with it. Just feel what it feels like, you may feel that you have to use your core more to stay in balance.

Once you have a feeling for how you actually ride your bike with only one hand without veering or wobbling you can start thinking about what you want to do with that spare hand

Try isolating the leaning forward movement too, try practicing it while riding without actually touching the bottle or removing your hands. It helps if your body recognizes part of the movement pattern from before.

[Owlie]

I have a death grip on the handle bars because I don't have the core strength yet (working on it!) to keep my weight off my arms. BF's advice was to start by releasing the grip and just rest my palms somewhere on the bars so I could grab the brakes if need be, then start moving my hands around to other spots. I'm finally okay with adjusting my glasses or brushing wayward strands of hair out of my face, but I still can't grab the water bottles out of their cages. I'm thinking of investing in a Camelbak for the time being.

[cylegoddess]

It took me time too! Now I can do it like the pros! You will too!

[moderncyclista]

Core strength is important, but also what gear are you riding in?
Your small ring, and middle ring (in front) aren't usually sufficient for riding no hands and maintaining balance whilst doing so. Switch to the big ring in front and a small ring in back and pedal at a decent speed. That is the only way I know of to get it done.

You can leave one hand on the bars (nothing is wrong with safety), which I recommend in urban areas. Master pulling the water bottle out one-handed and replacing it at low comfortable speeds. Not everyone needs to ride "no hands." Hydration and your personal safety are more important than looking cool.

[tctrek]

I would add - practice thinking it before doing it. Try thinking of riding with one hand, steering with one hand, and just relaxing the other, or removing it briefly from the bars without doing anything with it. Just feel what it feels like, you may feel that you have to use your core more to stay in balance.

Once you have a feeling for how you actually ride your bike with only one hand without veering or wobbling you can start thinking about what you want to do with that spare hand

Try isolating the leaning forward movement too, try practicing it while riding without actually touching the bottle or removing your hands. It helps if your body recognizes part of the movement pattern from before.

+1 on breaking down the action into it's smallest parts. just riding with one hand, but not going for the bottle. Then riding with one hand and just trying to touch the bottle. Progressing up to removing the bottle just a touch and pushing it back into the holder, etc. I was riding for a year before I figured out how to do this. And I started out, just drinking when I was on a piece of road where I could coast without pedaling. I got the bottle out and drank while coasting and just steering with one hand. Worked my way up to pedaling while drining.

So, take baby steps. The worst thing you can do is allow yourself to get dehydrated on the bike!

[MommyBird]

Wow, lots of good information. I will be rescanning this a few times to absorb it all. Thank you so much.

I had a few breakthroughs on my ride this afternoon.
I concentrated on centering my weight. That helped a lot.
I was able to ride a short distance with my weight on my right hand and my left off but still close to the bar.
I moved my hands around the bars instead of staying on the hoods close to the breaks.
I reached for my left rear jersey pocket to check for the truck keys. This was preformed like second nature after all the little experiments I had been doing throughout my ride.

I also glanced behind myself to check for traffic and held my line.

My stopping was more efficient and comfortable as well.

I feel ready to work on that rolling drink next ride.
I know I will never be as adept as my husband but I am pretty sure I can regain the skills I had 20 years ago on a road bike and still have today on my mountain bike.

[zia]

Thank you for posting this. I have the same problem, and went my entire first Olympic triathlon dry mouthed because I was too afraid to grab my drink. Core strength is definitely my issue... and my general lack of coordination.

[MommyBird]

I told my husband about starting this thread and he got a kick out of it.

On today's ride he was a big show off. After eating a gooey energy bar he proceeded to wave his arms like an orangutan and then pat his head and rub his tummy. Later on he crossed his arms and sang a song from Aladdin. He executed a tight, middle of the road, one handed, full circle turn while drinking from a gel flask. He was taunting me with his superior balance. Is this normal?

I checked my watch, twice. (He refuses to wear a watch while riding)
I wiped a biting gnat off my face and wiped it on my shorts.
I can tell that my balance is improving.
I am working towards a left-handed rolling drink.

[tctrek]

I told my husband about starting this thread and he got a kick out of it.

On today's ride he was a big show off. After eating a gooey energy bar he proceeded to wave his arms like an orangutan and then pat his head and rub his tummy. Later on he crossed his arms and sang a song from Aladdin. He executed a tight, middle of the road, one handed, full circle turn while drinking from a gel flask. He was taunting me with his superior balance. Is this normal?

Oh dear ... now you have his ego so big, it's unlikely his head will fit through the door when he comes home from work

[Selkie]

I told my husband about starting this thread and he got a kick out of it.

On today's ride he was a big show off. After eating a gooey energy bar he proceeded to wave his arms like an orangutan and then pat his head and rub his tummy. Later on he crossed his arms and sang a song from Aladdin. He executed a tight, middle of the road, one handed, full circle turn while drinking from a gel flask. He was taunting me with his superior balance. Is this normal?
.

It wouldn't be normal in my marriage for my husband to taunt me like that but each to his/her own.

If he keeps that up, he'll take a spill, which will be what he deserves.

I'm with Mimi on this one. Safety first. I don't care about being able to pull a bottle out of the cage and drink when I'm riding. I do have good balance and am an experienced rider; however, I am not inclined to tempt the fates. Having broken my clav and elbow in non-cycling athletic accidents, I'm content stopping to take a swig should I need one.